A known test clip for DIP ICs employs a clothes-pin type spring-loaded construction which, when opened, laterally spreads the clip contacts so it can be fitted over the IC housing and, when released, spring biases the electrical clip contacts into contact with the IC pins protruding from the IC socket typically mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). The test clip contacts extend vertically through the clip structure and are accessible at the top to the engineer or technician who desires to conduct tests or measurements of the IC while in service. In this construction, the two rows of clip contacts move laterally or transverse to the longitudinal axis of the IC package, i.e., in planes transverse to the IC pin rows. In another known test clip, the central clip contacts are not movable when the spring-loaded members are actuated, but the clip contacts at opposed ends move outwardly or longitudinally in the plane of the IC pin rows for the purpose of hooking the end clip contacts to the end IC pins to lock the clip to the IC package.
Both known constructions suffer from the disadvantage that, due to the spring-biased clothes-pin type construction, the height of the resultant clip, measured orthogonally to the PCB, is considerable, typically 11/2 inches or more. As a result, such clips cannot be easily clipped onto ICs on PCBs mounted parallel to one another on a mother board with relatively small inter-PCB spacings. Moreover, even when mounted on the IC, the use of such clips is sometimes obstructed by the presence of adjacent components on the PCB. In addition, the application of the spring loading directly to the IC pins can sometimes unduly stress the pins causing damage and eventual breakage.